NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45: A Fair to Remember
Svetavastra twitched her eyes open, she had been resting on a woven bed. The room was dimly lit by a single lamp, she could barely make sense of it. Her clothes had been changed and she was now wearing a cotton tunic and skirt. Where am I? She thought to herself. She could hear voices from the foyer, a casual conversation was in progress.
“How long have you been married?” a male voice asked someone.
“I bet they are newlywed!” a female voice said confidently. “They look young and in love!”
“Honoured hosts,” said Manu, his voice gentle, light, and calm. “I am grateful for your help. You are our saviours!”
“Enough of it, Shriman!” said the male voice. “You have thanked us multiple times already!”
“Have you guys eloped by any chance?” asked the male voice.
Manu coughed in response.
Svetavastra, having realised the conversation was about Manu and her, decided to interrupt them before Manu could respond.
“You are awake!” Manu said getting up from the stone bench in the foyer. “Are you feeling well?” He asked coming near to her.
Svetavastra felt somewhat disoriented by his concern and his devoted eyes. She murmured that she was feeling alright. Manu was in the company of an older couple, who exchanged knowing looks.
“Not past the honeymoon stage,” whispered the older woman to her husband.
“Sveta,” said Manu. “This is Acharya Parama and his wife Shrimati Anasuya. They saved us from drowning in the river after we fell from the waterfall.”
“We were just at the right place, at the right time,” said Acharya Parama his voice meek from all the prolonged gratitude conveyed by Manu. “It is the will of Gods!”
“Thank you for your kindness, respected sir and madam,” said Svetavastra with a bow.
“You must be hungry,” said Anasuya. “You have been sleeping since morning and the sun has just set.”
“I—
Before Svetavastra could say anything, she was interrupted.
“Why don’t you guys go to the fair in the village and check it out?” Anasuya suggested. “You would find many local delicacies, much more than what I can make right now for you.”
“There’s a fair in the village right now?” asked Manu curious.
“Yes, indeed,” said Acharya Parama. “Tomorrow is the grand festival of the local deity here, so the celebrations have already begun. Looks like you two have come to the village at the right time.”
Acharya Parama then went on to explain the significance of the local deity and how tomorrow’s festival is an annual festival, held to commemorate the protection offered by the local deity to the village. Ritual prayers would be conducted the next day at the main temple outside the village where the villagers would perform pooja to the local deity. It was considered to be an auspicious day and a highly anticipated event.
“Usually, we would have merchants from other regions coming here to set up their stalls,” said Acharya Parama. “But the movement of trade has come to a stop even since the curfew has been in place. We don’t know when it will be lifted.”
“Trying times,” commented Manu.
“Indeed!” said Acharya Parama. “A green pillar of light was spotted some days ago nearby. It’s a terrible omen. We hope to seek protection again from the local deity through the ritual prayers tomorrow.”
“All will be well,” said Manu in a comforting voice.
Svetavastra stomach made some noises interrupting the conversation.
Anasuya smiled and took the cue to act.
“Off you guys go now!” She pushed them out of her house and into the streets. “Go and enjoy the evening! And don’t forget to buy new clothes for tomorrow’s prayers!”
Svetavastra and Manu started walking towards the fair at the center of the village, they didn’t have to walk for long since it was a small village and they didn’t have to worry about the directions since many people were going and coming towards the well-lit fair. The fair was a lively event with people teeming around, local musicians were playing drums and singing folk songs. Many food stalls with freshly made sweets and savoury food were on display and the food vendors kept calling out announcing the varieties to the public. Manu took Svetavastra to a food stall and they ate freshly made jalebi and some savoury bajjis.
“These are so good!” said Svetavastra as she helped herself to a second round of both.
Manu smiled looking at her. Once they were done eating, they slowly walked from one stall to another. Svetavastra was transfixed with all the stalls and there was so much to see, her eyes lit up in wonder! Stalls selling prayer essentials such as coconuts and sandalwood, stalls for clothing, cosmetics, jewellery, and so on. She hadn’t encountered anything so lively from what she could remember. She soaked in all the sights and the sounds.
“This is amazing!” she said to Manu.
“Yes, it is,” he returned. “You can buy anything you want, it’s on me.”
“Ohh,” said Svetavastra. She didn’t realise she could buy things for herself, it was entirely a new concept. She didn’t recall having any money either. She never needed it thus far.
“But why would I need anything?” she asked genuinely puzzled as they continued to walk.
Manu smiled to himself. Of course, you wouldn’t need anything, he thought to himself.
“We need to buy new clothes for the pooja tomorrow,” said Manu.
“Are we staying here till tomorrow?” Svetavastra asked.
“Yes,” said Manu. “This is a great opportunity! You are a god, If you perform the pooja yourself, you can get some of your powers back via the local deity.”
“I am a god?” asked Svetavastra puzzled.
Manu sighed.
“It’s complicated,” said Manu. “But you are one, although you don’t have the powers of one.”
“Why would the local deity give me her powers?” asked Svetavastra.
“Because you’ll perform the pooja as a rite and you’ll take up the responsibility of protecting this village,” said Manu.
Svetavastra fell silent as she absorbed this information.
“No hesitation,” said Manu. “Protecting comes naturally to you. And in return, you will gain enough powers to protect them." He gestured to all the people around. "And some for yourself as well. It is only fair.”
They stopped at a clothing stall selling silk sarees at this point. Many beautiful sarees in lovely colours of pink, orange, lavender and more with contrasting borders adored with golden threads were on display from top to bottom.
“This pink saree would make you look like a princess, young lady,” said the vendor showing the pink saree.
Svetavastra shook her head to say no. She browsed through the sarees and pointed to one white saree hidden among other sarees. It had maroon border and golden thread.
The vendor pulled it down from the top and he had an interesting look on his face.
“This is actually not for sale,” he said slowly. “This is an extra piece of saree that was made as a backup. The original one was weaved for the local deity to be worn for the ritual tomorrow.”
“We’ll take it!” said Manu.
“But I don’t think—
Manu placed a heavy pouch filled with coins on the counter and the vendor’s objections promptly stopped with the weight of the thud he heard.
“You have the divine blessings, young lady,” he said with a grin.
Shriman - a honorific conveying respect. Similar to Mister
Acharya - teacher
Pooja - ritual prayer
Jalebi - a curly fried sweet dipped in sugar syrup
Bajji - fritters made of chickpea flour and varied vegetables
Saree - an unstitched garment of about 6 meters which is tied around the waist in pleats, with the open end thrown across the chest and hanging from the back.